#964 


Duke  University  Libraries 


/*AcT  ;6  6*& 


D03212470J 


REPORT 


OF 


THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  HUN  AFFAIRS. 


Confederate  States  of  America,  \ 

War  Department,  Office  of  Indian  Affairs,  > 

Richmond,  January  12,  1863.       ) 

Hon.  James  A.  Seddon, 

Secretary  of  War : 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  most  respectfully  to  submit  for  your  consid- 
eration the  fallowing  report  in  regard  to  the  operations  of  this  office, 
and  the  condition  of  the  Indians  west  of  Arkansas. 

On  the  3rd  day  of  April,  1862,  at  the  first  session  of  the  first  Con- 
gress, commencing  on  the  18th  day  of  the  previous  February,  the 
sum  of  $389,725.42  was  appropriated  to  carry  into  effect  treaty  stipula- 
tions made  with  these  Indians,  and  to  meet  current  and  contingent 
expenses  of  the  Superintendency  of  Indian  Affairs  and  the  different 
agencies  to  November,.  3Dth,  1862.  The  amount  expended  for  the 
purposes  intended  has  been  $213,597  73,  leaving  of  said  appropria- 
tion, unexpended  and  unrequired,  §176,127  69. 

The  appropriation  under  consideration  was  based  upon  estimates 
.prepared  and  submitted  by  this  office  ;  and,  as  will  be  perceived  by 
the  figures  above  given,  largely  exceeded  the  amount  required.  Th*is 
was  owing  to  the  failure  of  Agents  to  supply  this  office,  as  is  provided 
for  by  law,  with  quarterly  estimates  of  the  sums  necessary  for  distri- 
bution within  the  limits  of  their  respective  districts,  and  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  their  several  agencies.  Reference  is  made  to  this  fact 
simply  to  account  for  the  large  overplus  in  the  appropriation,  and  is 
not  intended  as  a  complaint  against  those  officers — the  difficulty  of 
communication  between  the  seat  of  government  and  the  Indian  coun- 
try, and  other  circumstances  incident  to  the  present  war,  being  suffi- 


eient  grounds  of  justification  for  non-compliance  -with  this  branch  of 
their  official  duty.     The  same  c  »o,  it  is  proper  to  state  in  this 

connection,  have,  no  doubt,  operated  to  prevent  them  from  promptly 
settling  their  accounts  and  keeping  this  office  fully  informed  of  the 
condition  and  sentiments  of  the  Indians  confided  to  their  care. 

In  the  month  of  August,  of  the  year  which  has  just  closed,  infor- 
mation from  sources  entitled  to  credit,  was  communicated  to  the  ' 
federate  government,  of  a  nature  calculated  to  excite  some  apprehen- 
sions, on  its  part,  with  regard  to  the  permanency  of  its  relations  with 
certain  of  tie  Indian  nations  and  tribes.  In  view  of  this  fact  it  was 
deemed  advisable  for  me  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  Indian  country; 
aid  orders  to  that  effect  were  issued  from  the  War  Department  early 
in  the  ensuing  month.  I  was  instructed  to  carry  with  me,  for  dis- 
I  merit,  the  Indian  moneys  appropriated  by  Congress  April  3rd, 
1862,  to  which  allusion  has  hereinbefore  been  made;  to  acquaint  my- 
self, as  far  as  practicable,  during  my  stay  in  the  Indian  country,  with' 
the  wants  and  condition  of  its  people  ;  and  to  use  all  proper  and  le- 
gitimate means  to  satisfy  them  of  the  determination  of  this  govern- 
ment to  fulfill  all  of  its  promises  and  obligations  to  them  ;  to  pay  them, 
as  regularly  as  possible,  their  annuities,  &c.  ;  and  to  protect  them  and 
their  homes  from  the  encroachments  of  all  enemies. 

In  obedience  to  these  orders,  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  Septem- 
ber, I  left  Richmond,  but  owing  to  misconnections  of  trains  upon  cer- 
tain railroads,  and  the  difficulty,  at  times,  of  procuring  suitable  trans- 
portation, I  did  not  enter  the  Indian  country  until  the  middle  of  Oc- 
tober. I  left  it,  upon  my  return  to  this  place,  about  the  1st  Decem- 
ber, having  remained  within  its  limits  about  a  month  and  a  half. 

During  this  time  I  had  repeated  interviews  with  Samuel  Garland, 
Principal  Chief  of  the  Choctaws  ;  Winchester  Colbert,  Governor  of 
the  Chickasaws  :  Stand  Watie,  Principal  Chief  of  the  Cherokees  ; 
Motey  Kennard  and  Echo  Ilarjo,  Chiefs  of  the  Upper  ami  Lower 
Creeks  ;  John  Jumper,  Chief  of  the  Seminoles,  and  other  men  of  au- 
thority in  these  nations. 

From  conversations  had  with  them,  and  from  information  derived 
through  other  reliable  channels,  it  was  evident  that  a  spirit  of  dissat- 
isfaction had  manifested  itself,  prior  to  my  arrival,  among  portions  of 
their  people.  It  had  resulted  from  the  delay  of  this  government — 
unavoidable,  it  is  true,  but  of  the  facts  of  which  they  had  not  been 
fully  advised,  or,  did  not  comprehend, — in  complying  with  certain  of 
its  engagements  to  them.  This  dissatisfaction  did  not  amount  to  real 
distrust  of  the  good  faith  of  the  Confederate  States.  It  was,  however,, 
a  beginning  in  that  direction  ;  and  had  it  been  permitted  to  continue, 
for  any  length  of  time,  the  most  disastrous  consequences  might  have 
ensued. 

The  task  of  removing  it  I  found  to  be  one  of  no  great  difficulty.. 
Indeed  the  mere  fact  of  the  government  having  sent  an  officer  from 
the  Capital  to  their  country,  charged  with  the  especial  duty  of  con- 
ferring with  them,  and  ascertaining  by  this  means  and  through  per- 
sonal observation,  their  wants  and  condition,  was  to  them  such  a  sig- 
nal and  conclusive  mark  of  its  favor  and  goodwill,  that  but  little  was 


3  ^ 

left  for  me  to  do  in  the  premises.  A  simple  ami  brief  explanation  of 
the  past  action  of  the  government  in  their  behalf,  coupled  with  the 
assurance  of  its  unalterable  determination  to  watch  over  and  protect 
them,  was  all-sufficient  to  banish  every  trace  of  discontent  from  their 
minds.  The  substance  of  my  official  remarks  to  the  authorities  of  the 
different  nations  is  contained  in  an  address  issued  to  them  from  this 
office  a  few  days  ago;  and  the  manner  in  which  they  were  received  is 
shown  by  extracts  from  a 'scries  of  resolutions  of  the  Choctaw  Coun- 
cil and  a  written  communication  from  the  Crock  Chiefs,  after  my  in- 
terviews with  them — all  of  which  are  herewith  respectfully  sub- 
mitted. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  in  the  reference  here  made  to  the  Choc- 
taw, Chickasaw,  Cherokee,  Creek  and  Seminole  nations,  the  idea  is 
sought  to  be  conveyed  that  all  these  Indians  have  proven  loyal  to  their 
treaty  engagements  with  the  Confederate  States.  Such  is  by  no 
means  the  fact.     Indeed  it  is  true  only  with  regard  to  one  of  th 

The  Choctaws  alone,  of  all  the  Indian  nations,  nave  remained  per- 
fectly united  in  their  loyalty  to  this  government.  It  was  said  to  me 
by  more  than  one  influential  and  reliable  Choctaw,  during  my  sojourn 
in  their  country,  that  not  only  had  no  member  of  that  nation  ever 
gone  over  to  the  .enemy,  but  that  no  Indian  had  ever  done  so,  in 
whose  veins  coursed  Choctaw  blood. 

The  Chickasaws  have  been  less,  but  scarcely  less  fortunate  in  this 
regard,  than  their  brothers,  the  Choctaws.       About  forty  familie 
a  body,  were  induced  to   desert  their   country  about  the  time  of  the 
alliance  of  their  nation  with  the  Confederate  States.      With   this   ex- 
ception no  instances  of  disaffection  have  been  known  amongst  them. 

Of  the  Seminoles  at  least  one-half  have  proved  disloyal,  and  have 
deserted  their  country.  Their  Chief,  John  Jumper,  however,  has  ever 
exhibited  unshaken  fidelity  to  the  Confederate  cause,  and  those  of  his 
people  who  have  remained  with  him  are  composed  of  the  same  staunch 
material  with  himself. 

The  Creeks  have  lost  about  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  of  their 
people.  Ho-poth-li-Yo-ho-la's  defection  carried  off  almost  all  of 
these,  as  well  as  the  forty  families  of  Chickasaws  before  alluded  to, 
and  the  major  part  of  the  Seminoles. 

Of  the  Cherokees  not  less  than  one-half  followed  Ross,  when  he 
deserted  his  country.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  worth  and  talent  of 
the  nation,  however,  was  left  behind  him,"  and  is  now  clustered  about 
Stand  Watie,  its  present  gallant  and  patriotic  Principal  Chief. 

In  reference  to  the  condition  and  feelings  of  the  small  tribes  located 
in  the  north-eastern  corner  of  the  Indian  country — the  Osages,  Qua- 
paws,  Senecas,  and  Senecas  and  Shawnees — but  little  is  known.  Their 
country  exposed,  as  it  is,  to  invasion  by  Kansas  desperadoes,  has 
been  completely  under  the  control  of  the  North,  almost  from  the  day 
of  their  having  entered  into  treaties  with  this  government.  On  tins. 
account  one  hundred  and  fifty  families  of  the  Great  Osage  tribe  left 
their  homes  long  ago,  and  took  refuge  with  the  Creeks.  Three  of  the 
leading  men  among  these  refugees — a  chief,  Black  Dog,  and  two 
others — visited  me  at  Fort   Smith,  on   the  line  of  Arkansas  and  the 


Indian  country.  They  seemed  to  believe  that  a  majority  of  their 
brother  Osages* which  is  the  only  one  of  these  bands  of  any  strength 
or  importance,  were  still  true  and  loyal,  although  fear  had  kept  them 
from  making  a  decided  manifestation  of  it.  At  any  rate,  according 
to  their  statement,  no  acts  of  hostility  had  ever  been  perpetrated  by 
them  against  the  Confederate  States.  The  other  bands,  they  thought, 
had  sided  with  the  enemy. 

The  Indians  settled  upon  the  district  lying  lie! ween  the  98th  and 
100th  parallels  of  west  longitude  and  the  Red  and  Canadian  rivers, 
and  known  as  the  Reserve  Indians,  have  not,  of  late,  been  doing  very 
well  At  the  time  these  Indians  were  taken  under  Che  guardianship 
of  the  Confederate  States,  they  numbered,  including  men,  women 'and 
children,  about  two  thousand  souls,  and  consisted  of  Comanches,  Wi- 
chitas,  Caddos,  Anadaghcos,  Toncawes-,  Tahuacaros,  Buecos,  Kichais 
and  Aionais.  Provision  was  made  for  feeding  them  at  the  expense  of 
the  government,  and  placing  with  them  white  men  to  give  them  in- 
struction in  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts. 

Anterior  to  my  visit  to  the  Indian  country,  false  representations 
were  made  to  these  Indians,  by  mischievous  person?,  of  a  threatened 
inroad  into  the  Reserve  district  of  a  band  of  Texans,  with  hostile  in- 
tentions; and  all,  or  nearly  all  of  the  Wichitas,  Caddos,  Tahuacaros. 
Huecos,  Aionais  and  Kichais,  ran  away.  These  desertions  reduced 
the  number  of  Indians  upon  the  Reserve,  at  least  one-half. 

Information  in  regard  to  this  untoward  event  did  not  reach  me 
until  my  arrival  at  Fort  Washita,  in  the  Chickasaw  country,  where, 
at  the  same  time.  I  was  also  met  by  news  from  the  Reserve  of  a  still 
more  unpleasant  character. 

Letters  from  the  quartermaster  of  the  Chickasaw  battalion,  sta- 
tioned at  Arbuckle,  had  just  been  received  at  Washita,  giving  an  ac- 
count of  a  cerioua  attack  upon  the  Reserve  by  a  band  of  marauding 
Indians.  At  the  former  post,  to  which  I  immediately  proceeded  in 
the  company  of  Gen.  Tike,  1  learned  the  particulars  of  the  affair  from 
Dr.  Sturm,  the  issuing  commissary  for  the  Reserve,  and  l>r.  Shirley, 
a  merchant  at  the  Ag<  DCy,  both  of  whom  were  in  the  neighborhood  at 
the  time  of  its  occurrence] 

The  marauding  party  scarcely  exceeded  one  hundred  in  number,  and 
were  composed  of  Shawnees,  who  had  deserted  from  John  Jumper's 
battalion,  Delawares,  Kickapoos,  and  a  few  disloyal  Seminoles  and 
Cherokees.  They  made  their  appearance  at  the  Agency  between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock,  on  the  night  of  the  23d  October.  Whether  any  of 
the  Reserve  Indians  had  a  knowledge  of  their  coming  is  not  certainly 
known.     They,  however,  took  no  part  in  the  outrage. 

Four  of  the  white  employees  at  the  Agency  were  surprised  and 
murdered.     Their  names  were  Bickel,  Harrison,  Outzcn  and  Turman. 

During  the  night,  the  murderers,  after  having  plundered  the  Agency 
building,  burned  it  to  the  ground.     No  other  house  was  destroyed. 

The  following  morning  they  attacked  the  Toncawes,  one  of  the 
bands  of  Reserve  Indians,  killing  their  chief,  Tlacido,  a  good  man, 
twenty-three  of  their  warriors,  and  about  an  hundred  of  their  women 
and  children.     The  Toncawes,  although  armed  with  only  bows  and 


arrows,  while  their  assailants  had  weapons  of  the  latest  and  best  pat- 
tern, furnished  them  by  the  North,  inflicted  upon  the  latter,  it  was 
said,  a  loss  of  twenty-seven  men  in  killed  and  wounled. 

The  ground  of  their  assault  upon  the  Toncawes  is  to  be  found,  I 
suspect,  in  the  fact  of  this  band  having  sided  with  the  whites  against 
the  Indians  some  time  ago  in  Texas.  Feuds  among  this  singular  race 
of  people  never  die. 

The  remnant  of  the  ill-fated  Toncawe  tribe,  about  forty  men  and 
less  than  a  hundred  women  and  children,  made  their  way  to  Arbuckle 
a  few  days  after  the  fight.  They  were  in  a  most  miserable  and  desti- 
tute condition. 

Before  leaving  the  Chickasaw  country,  I  wrote  to  the  Governor  of 
that  nation,  asking  permission  to  place  them  temporarily  on  Rocky 
Creek,  about  eighteen  miles  east  of  Arbuckle,  where  there. was  excel- 
lent grazing  for  the  few  horses  owned  by  them,  plenty  of  wood  and 
good  water.  His  consent  Avas  readily  obtained.  A  copy  of  his  letter 
on  the  subject  is  hereto  appended. 

Dr.  Sturm,  the  commissary  before   referred  to,  was  instructed  by 
'me  to  remain  with  the  Toncawes  during  the  winter,  and  attend  to  the 
issuing  of  provisions  to  them,  which  would  be  supplied  under  the  con- 
tract for  feeding  the  Reserve  Indians. 

I  did  not  visit  the  Reserve.  It  was  unnecessary,  as  all  the  friendly 
Indians,  from  fear,  were  known  to  have  abandoned  it  soon  after  the 
commission  of  the  outrages,  to  which  I  have  directed  attention,  and 
had  fled  to  the  "Wichita  mountains.  A  message,  however,  inviting  the 
fugitives  back  to  their  homes,  and  couched  in  such  terms  as  were  cal- 
culated to  allay  their  apprehensions,  was  transmitted  to  them,  through 
Dr.  Shirley,  who  accompanied  a  scouting  party  sent  to  the  Reserve  by 
Gen.  Pike.  Of  the  result  of  this  undertaking  the  office  has  not  yec 
been  informed,  although  but  little  doubt  is  entertained  of  its  success, 
as  the  Comanche  chiefs,  whose  encampment  was  visited  by  certain 
white  men  immediately  subsequent  to  the  attack  upon  the  Agency,  and 
by  whom  they  were  assisted  to  escape,  expressed  the  determination  of 
returning,  when  all  excitement  had  subsided,  and  they  were  assured 
of  protection. 

Dr.  Shirley,  it  should  likewise  be  stated,  was  also  requested  by  me, 
while  he  remained  upon  the  Reserve,  to  take  charge  of  all  government 
property  there,  and  adopt  the  necessary  measures  to  preserve  it  from 
waste. 

Before  dismissing  the  subject  of  the  Reserve  agency,  a  few  remarks 
in  reference  to  the  wild  Indians  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

It  is  gratifying  to  be  able  to  state,  that  they  have  recently  evinced 
no  great  disposition  to  wage  war  upon  the  Confederate  States.  In- 
deed, with  the  exception  ef  the  Cai-a-was,  they  have  never  done  so. 
This  band,  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  warlike  of  all  the  tribes 
leading  a  nomadic  life  upon  the  prairies  and  Staked  Plain,  refused  all 
pvopositions  of  peace  made  to  them  in  July,  1861,  by  the  commis- 
sioner sent  from  this  government  to  treat  with  the  Indians  west  of 
Arkansas,  and  endeavored  to  prevail  upon  the  Comanches  to  pursue  a 
similar  course.     They  were  induced  to  act  thus  by  Northern  emissa- 


who,  at  the  same  time  provided  them  with  rifle*,  six-shooters,  and 
knives  to  be  used  in  murdering  and  Bcalping  defenceless  women  and 
children.  In  their  wicked  and  bloody  designs  they  railed  to  obtain 
the  co-operation  of  the  Oomanches — several  of  the  hands  of  which 
made  a  treaty  with  the  commissioner.  Latterly,  however,  even  this 
fierce  tribe  has  manifested  some  desire  to  cultivate  friendly  relations 
■with  the  Confederate  States. 

On  the  4th  July  last,  BOme  of  the  Cai-a-wa  chiefs  accompanied  the 
Gomanches  in  their  visit  to  the  Reserve  agency  to  Bign  the  treaty  which 
had  heretofore  been  made  with  a  part  of  them,  and  while  there,  they 
also  entered  into  a  convention  with  the  Confederate  Government. 
That  they  really  wished  to  he  at  peace,  and  intended  to  abide  by  the 
obligations  of  this  convention,  is  Btrongly  indicated  by  the  fact  of 
Tes-toth-cia,  their  principal  chief,  having  come  to  the  Reserve,  Bome 
time  before,  to  select  a  home  for  his  band,  and  pointing  out  Elk 
Creek,  in  thcvicinity  of  the  "Wichita  mountains,  as  the  place  desired 
by  him  for  the  purpose. 

The  recent  breaking  up  of  the  Reserve  has  interfered  with  all  these 
arrangements — arrangements  looking  to  the  establishment  of  friendly 
relations  with  all  the  wild  Indians,  their  permanent  settlement,  and 
cultivation  of#the  arts  of  peace;  but  it  is  hoped  that  this  may  be 
speedily  remedied  by  the  return  of  the  Reserve  Indians  to  their  homes, 
and  the  wise  management  henceforth  of  the  affairs  of  the  Agency. 

The  importance  of  this  Reserve  agency  to  the  Confederate  States  is 
scarcely  to  be  over  estimated.  The  labor  and  expense  necessary  to 
keep  it  up,  at  least  for  some  years,  will  be  great ;  but  it  may  well  be 
urged,  that  peace  on  our  extensive  western  frontier,  which  would,  no 
doubt,  result  from  its  maintenance  on  a  sound  and  healthful  basis  ; 
the  preservation  of  the  lives  and  property  of  thousands  of  our  citizens, 
and  withal  the  gradual  civilization  of  the  roving  Pagans  of  the  prai- 
ries, offer  the  most  ample  remuneration  for  all  the  labor  and  all  the 
expense  to  which  the  government  may  be  subjected,  should  it  be  doubly 
as  heavy,  as  there  is  any  likelihood  of  its  being. 

Permit  me  to  remark  in  this  connection  that  a  white  and  Indian  force 
adequate  to  the  protection  of  the  Reserve  should  be  constantly  kept 
there ;  and  that  the  necessary  steps  should,  at  once,  be  taken  to  re- 
build the  Agent's  house,  which  was  destroyed  as  hereinbefore  stated. 

In  portions  of  the  Indian  country  excessive  drought  has  prevailed 
during  the  last  two  seasons.  The  crops  were  cut  short,  and  some  of 
the  friendly  Indians  are,  therefore,  suffering.  Corn,  however,  has 
been,  and  is  still  being  supplied,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  the  most 
needy  among  them,  by  the  generals  in  command.  These  facts  are  men- 
tioned that  Congress  may  adopt  such  action  on  the  subject,  an,  in  its 
judgment,  shall  seem  best. 

I  had  intended  to  suggest,  for  your  consideration,  certain  modifica- 
tions of  the  law  regulating  trade  and  intercourse  with  the  Indians, 
but  have,  upon  reflection,  deemed  it  inexpedient  to  do  so.  It  contains 
features  of  somewhat  doubtful  propriety,  yet  having  only  recently 
'been  enacted,  and  therefore  but  imperfectly  tested,  I  do  not  now  feel 
altogether  authorized  to  dispute  its  efficiency. 


No  effort  of  this  office,  in  its  operations  heretofore,  has  been  spare! 
to  guard  the  interests  of  the  Confederate  States,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  Indians,  and  it  is  sufficient  to  state,  in  conclusion,  that  for  the 
future  the  same  ends  shall  be  had  constantly  in  view. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

S.  S.  SCOTT, 

Com.  fyc. 


8 


LIST  oj  Documents  accompanying  the  foregoing  Report. 

No.  1.  Address  to  the  Choctaws,  Chickasaw^,  Chcrokees,  Creeks, 
Seminoles,  and  all  other  Indian  nations  and  tribes  friendly  to  the  Con- 
federate States,  dated  Dec.  26,  18G2. 

No.  2.  Resolutions  of  the  General  Council  of  the  Choctaw  nation, 
approved  Oct.  22d.  1862. 

No.  3.  Extract  from  a  talk  of  the  Creek  chiefs,  dated  November 
27th,  1862. 

No.  4.  Letter  to  Gov.  Winchester  Colbert,  of  the  Chickasaw  na- 
tion, dated  Nov.  10th,  1862. 

No.  5.  Reply  of  Gov.  Colbert  to  the  foregoing,  dated  November 
IOth,  1862. 

No.  6.  Letter  of  Brig.  Gen.  Albert  Pike,  dated  July  20th,  1862. 


ADDRESS 


Confederate   States  of  America,       } 

War  Department,  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs,  \ 

Richmond,  December  26,  1862.  ) 

To  the  Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Seminoles,  and  all 

other  Indian  Nation  i  and  Tribes  friendly  to  the  Confederate  States: 

My  Friends, — I  have  just  returned  to  Richmond,  the  capital  of 
the  Confederate  States,  from  your  beautiful  country.  To  visit  you,  I 
have  traveled  over  nix  thousand  miles  in  the  last  four  months.  The 
Pn  sident  of  the  Confederate  States,  one  who  loves  you  well,  com- 
manded me  to  make  this  journey — to  see  you  at  your  homes — to  con- 
verse with  you  face  to  face — in  order  that  the  Government  might  be 
placed  in  possession  of  certain  and  reliable  information  in  regard  to 
your  wants  and  necessities,  and  the  condition  of  your  country. 

During  my  stay  in  the  Indian  Territory,  where  I  was  treated  by 
you  with  every  kindness  and  courtesy,  I  had  repeated  talks  with  many 
of  you.  The  facts  obtained  from  you,  in  those  interviews,  have  been 
treasured  up  in  my  memory,  and  shall  be  fully  communicated  to  the 
Government.  In  the  mean  time,  however,  I  desire  to  say  a  few  addi- 
tional words  to  you  ;  and  I  trust  you  will  give  to  them  due  con- 
sideration. 

In  .the  early  part  of  the  year  1861,  Gen.  Albert  Pike,  of  Arkansas, 
was  sent,  as  a  Commissioner  to  your*  country,  to  explain  to  you  the 
facts  in  relation  to  the  organization  of  the  Confederate  Government, 
and  to  request  y  >u  to  extend  to  it  the  hand  of  peace  and  friendship. 
In  pursuance  of  the  authority  with  which  he  was  invested,  before  the 
close  of  the  year,  he  concluded  treaties  with  all  of  you.  These  trea- 
ties have  since  been  properly  ratified  ;  and  you  thereby  became  the 
allies  of  the  Confederate  States. 

The  Government  in  making  these  treaties  with  you,  consulted  your 
welfare  and  happiness,  as  well  as  its  own.  By  reference  to  them,  it 
will  be  perceived  that  every  provision  is  marked  by  justice  and  liber- 
ality. Many  rights  and  privileges  are  thereby  extended  to  you,  which 
were  persistently  denied  you  under  the  old  Government.  In  short, 
by  the  terms  of  these  treaties,  you  are  made  to  occupy  a  high  and  ex- 
alted position — one  adapted  to  your  civilization  and  advancement,  and 
suited  to  your  pride  and  independence  of  character. 

You  aro  allowed  delegates  in  Congress,  whose  exclusive  duty  con- 
sists in  watching  over  and  guarding  your  interests. 

The  establishment  of  courts  in  your  midst  is  provided  for,  so  that 


10 

are  not  compelled  to  go  for  justice  to  the  tribunals  of  neighbor- 
Jtates,  but  can  have-  it  administered  to  you  at  hi 

The  payment  of  all  moneys,  whether  due  to  you  from  the  old  Gov- 
ernment, or  any  of  tl;  which  composed  it,  ua  Becared  to  you. 

The  peaceful  and  uninterrupted  possession  and  enjoyment  of  your 
country  forever,  is  guaranteed  to  you;  ami  the  power  of  the  Confede- 
rate Government  is  pledged  to  assist  you  in  defending  it,  at  all  times, 
and  against  all  enemies. 

From  the  character  cf  these  treaties,  it  seems,  that  the  bond  of 
friendship  thus  formed  between  the  Confederate  States  and  yourselves 
ought  to  endure  forever;  and  such  it  is  confidently  believed  will  be 
the  fact;  for  in  addition  to  the  reasons  already  enumerated,  there  yet 
remain  other  and  most  potent  ones,  why  it  should  be  so. 

The  people  of  the  Confederate  States  are  emphatically  your  friends 
and  brothers.  You  arc,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  Southern.  The 
South  was  the  home  of  your  fathers.  It  was  within  the  shadow  of 
her  deep  forests  and  by  the  side  of  her  sparkling  streams,  that  they 
sported  in  their  infancy,  and  hunted  the  deer  and  bear  in  their  man- 
hood ;  and  it  is  in  the  bosom  of  her  green  valleys  that  their  bones  now 
lie  buried.  The  territory,  which  you  now  occupy,  and  which  has  been 
set  apart  for  you  and  your  children  forever,  is  Southern  territory. 
Your  language  is  Southern.  Your  habits,  your  manners  and  cus- 
toms are  Southern  ;   and  your  interests  are  all  Southern. 

I  have  said  your  interests  arc  all  Southern.  Herein  the  war,  which 
is  being  waged  upon  the  Confederate  by  the  Northern  States,  directly 
affects  you — affects  you  to  the  same  extent  that  it  does  them.  It  is 
for  your  degradation  and  abasement — for  the  destruction  of  your  pro- 
perty— for  the  overthrow  of  your  institutions — as  well  as  theirs. 
Slavery  with  you  is  as  obnoxious  to  the  fanaticism  of  the  North  as  it 
is  in  the  Confederate  States;  and  could  that  Government  subjugate 
them  and  deprive  them  of  their  slaves,  it  would  not  be  long  in  taking 
yours  from  you  also.  But  this  is  not  all.  After  having  dispossessed 
you  of  your  slaves,  it  would  fasten  upon  your  rich  and  fertile  lands, 
and  distribute  them  among  its  surplus  and  poverty-stricken  popula- 
tion, who  have  been  looking  toward  them  with  longing  hearts  for 
years. 

A  word  now  in  regard  to  the  fortunes  of  the  war.  Within  the  last 
two  years  many  battles  have  been  fought.  Some  of  these  were  on  a 
scale  of  the  greatest  magnitude.  In  all  of  them,  away  from  water 
courses,  the  Confederate  troops,  although  greatly  outnumbered,  have 
uniformly  proven  victorious.  Only  a  few  days  ago,  the  grand  army 
of  the  North  was  defeated,  with  a  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  of  about 
twenty  thousand  men,  at  Fredericksburg,  in  this  State,  by  the  Con- 
federate forces  under  Gen.  Lee.  There  is  but  little  doubt  that  the  re- 
sults of  future  battles  will  be  similar  in  character  to  those  of  the 
past.  The  Southern  Indian  is  the  fighting  Indian;  the  S  mthern 
white  man  is  the  fighting  white  man  ;  and  they  can  never  be  subdued 
by  Northern  arms.  As  well  might  a  single  individual  attempt  to  stay 
the  sweep  of  a  prairie  fire. 

Some  delays  have  now  and  then  occurred  in  the  fulfillment  of  cer- 


11 

tain  of  the  promises  made  to  you  by  the  Confederate  Government. 
This  could  not  be  prevented.  They  were  the  result  exclusively  of 
this  great  and  terrible  war.  Recollect  this  fact,  should  similar  delays 
hereafter  ensue.  The  'Confederate  Government  will  comply  strictly  with 
all  of  its  engagements  to  you.  Bear  this  always  in  mind,  and  never 
suffer  yourselves  to  doubt  it. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  remark,  that  by  a  proper  use  of  the  facilities 
for  advancement,  which  the  Government  of  the  Confederate  States 
has  placed  within  your  reach,  and  under  its  fostering  care  and  protec- 
tion, inhabiting,  as  you  do,  a  country  healthful,  finely  watered,  and 
possessed  of  every  advantage  of  soil  and  climate,  it  will  be  easy  for 
you,  in  a  few  years,  to  become  powerful  and  prosperous  nations.  That 
you  may  energetically  direct  your  efforts  to  the  accomplishment  of 
this  great  end,  and  that  such  efforts  in  connection  with  those  of  the 
Government  in  your  behalf  may  be  crowned  with  success,  is  the  earn- 
est wish  and  full  expectation  of  the  President  and  people  of  the  Con- 
federate States. 

Your  friend, 

S.  S.   SCOTT, 

Com.  fyc. 


12 


[No.  II.] 

1st.  Resolved  by  the  General  Council  of  the  Choctaw  Nation  assembled, 
That  the  Choctaw  nation  has  the  utmost  confidence  in  the  good  faith 
and  firm  friendship  of  the  Government  of  the  Confederate  States. 

2d.    Resolved, further.  That  the  Choctaw  nation  duly  appreciates, 

and  hereby  acknowledges  the  many  acts  of  kindness  and  care  per- 
formed by  that  government  toward  the  Choctaw  people  ;  and  espe- 
cially is  the  nation  gratified  at  the  act  of  said  government  in  sending 
the  chief  officer  of  the  Indian  Department,  S.  S.  Scott,  Esq.,  as  a 
special  agent  to  enquire  into  the  condition  of  the  Choctaw  country, 
and  the  wants  of  its  people. 

*  «  #  * 

Proposed  by  George  Folsom. 

Passed  the  House  of  Representatives  Oct.  22,  1862. 


Passed  the  Senate  Oct.  22,  1862. 


B.  L.  LEFLORE, 

Speaker  of  House. 

Z.  HARRISON, 

President  of  Senate. 


Approved  Oct.  22,  1862.  SAM'L  GARLAND, 

p.  a  a  n. 

James  Riley, 

National  Secretary,  Choctaw  Nation. 


13 


[No.    III.] 

Fort  Smith,  Arkansas,  ) 
November  27,  1862.      J 

To  Col.  S.  S.  Scott, 

Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  : 

Sir  : 

#  *  *  * 

The  interview  we  had  with  you  to-day  has  been  highly  satisfactory, 
and  we  are  gratified  to  kirow  that  the  Confederate  Government  feels 
so  deep  an  interest  in  us.*  We  desire  to  be  of  it  and  to  aid  it ;  and 
we  would  here  take  the  liberty  to  urge  the  necessity  of  it  giving  to 
our  people  that  protection  promised,  and  so  very  much  needed,  against 
the  enemy,  who  now  press  us  sorely  and  severely,  and  to  whom  we 
arc  so  much  exposed. 

With  Lest  wishes  for  the  success  of  our  cause,  and  asking  that  the 
above  receive  yeur  earliest  attention,  we  have  the  honor  to  be, 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servants, 

MOTEY  KANNARD, 
ECHO  HARJO, 


Attest : 

Geo.  W.  Walker,  Clerk. 


Principal  Chiefs  Creek  Nation, 


14 


[No.  IV.] 

Fort   AebUCKLG,  ) 

November  10th,  1862.      j 
To  Gov.  Winchester  Colbert, 

Chickasaw  Natiori  : 

Sir:   The  Toncawes,  one  of  the  friendly  tribes  settled  on  the  B 
serve,  were  driven   from  their  homes,   and   several  of  their  nui 
killed,  by  a  band  of  marauding   Indians,   who  recently  attacked  the 
Wichita  Agency.      They   had  incurred   the   hatred   of  these  Indians, 
because'  of  their  friendship  for  the   Confederate  government  and  the 
Chickasaw  nation. 

It  is  deemed  impolitic  to  send  the  remnant   of  the  tribe,    now'  en- 
camped near  this  post,  back  to  the  Reserve  this  winter.     I,  therefore, 
respe<  tfally  ask   the  privilege  of  placing  them  temporarily  on  Rocky 
or    Clear  Creek,  near  the  road  leading  from  Fort  Washita  to  Arbuc 
kle,  and  about  eighteen  miles  from  the  latter* 

I  am,  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

S.  S.  SCOTT, 

Com.,  Sfc. 


15 


[No.  V.] 


Fort  Areuckle, 
November  10,  1862. 


To  Hon.  S.  S.  Scott, 

Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  : 

Sir:  Your  communication  of  this  morning  asking  the  privilege  of 
removing  the  Toncawes  from  their  camp  near  this  post,  (they  having 
come  there  because  of  an  attack  upon  them  at  the  Wichita  Agency,) 
has  been  duly  considered  by  me  in  conjunction  "with  Colonel  Pickens, 
Captain  Gamble  and  Captain  Sheco. 

You  are  therefore  fully  authorized  to  make  this  temporary  removal 
of  these  Indians,  provided  they  are  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  Chick- 
asaw nation,  and  will  furnish  guides  to  the  Home  Guards  and  the' 
Chickasaw  Battalion,  when  called  upon  to  do  so. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

f  W.  COLBERT, 

Governor. 


16 


[No.  VI.] 

Headquarters,  Fort  McCulloch,  ) 
July  20,  1862.       I 
S.  S.  Scott.  Esq.. 

Acting  Commr  Indian  Affairs  : 

SrR :  I  am  glad  to  hare  to  report  that  since  the  fourtji  of  this 
month  about  four  hundred  of  the  wild  Comanches,  accompanied  by  the 
Caiawa  chiefs,  have  been  in  at  the  Wichita  Agency;  and  that  the 
former  have  renewed  the  treaty  made  by  part  of  them,  and  the  latter 
have  entered  into  the  convention  sent  up  by  me  for  their  considera- 
tion. They  waited  some  days  in  the  hope  of  seeing  me,  but  I  could 
not  <ro,  being  under  orders  to  take  a  different  direction. 

My  absence  was  so  explained  that  it  did  no  harm  ;  and  the  agent 
informs  me  that  these  tribes  are  now  perfectly  peaceable,  contented 
and  satisfied.  Only  one  band  of  the  Comanches  remains  to  be  treated 
with.  They  reside  on  the  Staked  Flain,  and  it  is  promised  they  will 
be  in  in  September. 


I  am,  very  respectfully  yours, 

ALBERT  HKE, 

Brigadier  General,  &'c. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
pH8.5 


